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    Thank you Thursday! - (November 22, 2018) Entrepreneur

    November 22, 2018

    Thank you Thursday! - (November 22, 2018) Entrepreneur

    Thank you Thursday! - (November 22, 2018)

    Posted: 22 Nov 2018 05:05 AM PST

    Your opportunity to thank the /r/Entrepreneur community by offering free stuff, contests, discounts, electronic courses, ebooks

    and the best deals you know of. Please consolidate such offers here!

    Since this thread can fill up quickly, consider sorting the comments by "new" (instead of "best" or "top") to see the newest posts.

    submitted by /u/AutoModerator
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    How I started a Copywriting Business After Getting Fired From My IT Job

    Posted: 22 Nov 2018 07:13 AM PST

    DISCLAIMER: I was very fortunate because my parents let me live with them rent-free. I attribute a lot of my success to them

     

    Stage 1: Get Started

    So June last year I got laid off from my job. From there I decided I'll make a copywriting business from scratch. I hated the politics and the grind (I'm sure a lot of you can relate).

    Problem is.........I didn't know how to write copy. Or even get started. So I learned the only way I could, by going on Google.

    I must have read through 50 + blog posts on getting started and finally found a copywriter I liked. Read all his content and bought his course.

    Took it religiously and read every single book that he recommended front and back. I still have the books littered with notes.

    But I had NO CLUE how to get clients. Zero.

    One of the blog posts I saw online mentioned to look for Facebook groups. They said there were clients there looking for work.

    So I decided to join one, messaged someone and got a response. I had a phone interview with my very first 'prospect.'

    Holy shit I had a prospect. But that enthusiasm was short-lived. After talking to me and seeing that I didn't have anything close to a portfolio he wasn't convinced.

    He liked me, but he wasn't sure if I could do the job. I don't blame him.

    But I was one step closer; I knew what I needed was a portfolio. I got his attention, but the product (me) wasn't good enough.

    I actually have to thank Reddit. I saw at the time there were a lot of posts going around offering 'free work.' I was interested and tried it.

    It changed everything.

     

    Stage 2: First few clients

    I set up a Reddit post offering free copywriting. Waited for an hour or two with my fingers crossed.

    Nothing.

    Went to sleep and woke up the next morning...........25 messages.

    Holy. Okay, now we can get started.

    Long story short, I got a few portfolio pieces. I also got my first client!

    If you're reading this, you know who you are :)

    I just made my first dollar...well it was a whole lot of dollars. But for the first time in forever, I felt like this had a chance.

    Mind you this was six months in after I got fired. I was eating through my savings cause of small bills.

    So it was very welcome.

    Also through a referral from that client, I got my second job!

    Now I was ready.

     

    Stage 3: Leveraging my first few projects to get more!

    Ok. Now I have a portfolio, what next?

    I was reading about getting clients online like a madman. And I had mixed feelings about my next step.

    I've read A LOT of good and A LOT of bad about Upwork. But I wanted to try it out to see if I could get clients on there.

    What did I have to lose?

    But I couldn't be like any other freelancer and start sending out proposals.

    That wouldn't get me anywhere. The thing was at this point I knew a lot about copy.

    I know how the process worked and I could explain to anyone why I wrote anything.

    I could break down sentences, user personas, headlines, bullets.....you name it!

    This came in handy. I created a WordPress site next.

    I then wrote full-length, in-depth case studies on every single project I did to date. I mean testimonials from my clients, linked sources, screenshots......the works.

    I legit spend 2-3 weeks writing 1000+ word case studies. I applied every copywriting trick I knew to the case studies.

     

    Stage 4: Bite the bullet and try out UpWork

    Before I got on upwork, I researched every single part of a profile. What my tagline meant, what my user profile should be like and how do I frame my portfolio pieces.

    Every single thing was geared towards getting clients.

    No 'Hey I'm so and so a professional for x years yadda yada.'

    It was straight, 'Hey you want great copy and clients? Well, this is what you have to do'.

    Well not in those words but you get the drill. I made sure it was personal and tried my best not to be generic.

    I send out my first 35 proposals in 2 days and waited. I won't lie I was nervous AF.

    If this didn't work, that was almost a month down the drain.

    Out of the 35 proposals sent, I got 11 responses and three jobs.

    ............this is working what in the hell.

    The best feeling was out of the 11 clients, at least 7 mentioned my case studies. They said they loved and learned a lot.

    They mentioned no freelancer came close concerning presentations, even those with experience on UpWork.

    I beat out several experienced freelancers (the job had 70+ proposals) for a really great project.

    I still have that client to this day, they pay well and give me projects that look stellar on my portfolio.

     

    Stage 5: Trying to grow

    Life was good. I was legitimately making money per month. I'd get clients and do great work.

    I leveraged work I did to get even better work. I was building up my reviews.

    Now you're probably wondering, 'Hey I hear Upwork had a shit ton of crappy clients, where's the story about that?'

    Yeah, I had those for sure.

    I had people hit me with a '?' for not responding in 3 minutes (god can't I take a #2 in peace?)

    The simple story? Cut them lose. I don't care how much money you bring to the table.

    If you bring my morale down for dumb reasons, you're out.

    I only worked with clients that I loved working with. If that meant less income, I'd take the hit.

    As I mentioned, I was living with my parents, so the money I made was more than enough for my bills to be paid.

    And now I was starting to get referrals. The clients that I got off Upwork liked me.

    Why? Because I had MORE than enough time to spend on them. And I made sure to deliver service above and beyond what was expected.

    Need this done in 5 days? I'll get it to you in 4.

    Wanted 3 headlines to split test. No problem man, here's 5.

    If I liked the client, I would give them extra stuff. Is it the best way to do business? Maybe not.

    But it's how I wanted to do business, and that's I think all that matters at the end of the day.

    Those referrals turned into more referrals with great work. I started getting legitimate results.

    There was a B2B campaign for a well known Australian Marketing brand I worked on. I was able to get a 10% conversion rate on the first split test.

    I charged $400 for that landing page, every lead to the client was worth 1k+.

    Within the first month, they had 17 leads from that one landing page and closed 5.

    Safe to say they were happy as hell and had me do a bunch more.

    I now had an idea of what I was doing.......about time.

    But I didn't want to stay stagnant; I wanted to see how far I could take my hourly rate.

    So every time I'd get two clients at a dollar amount I'd increase it by 50%.

    I went from 40 to 60 to 90 to now 100.

    I'm close to closing my first 100/hr client now, and it feels great.

    I'm still nowhere close to where I want to be, but I'm MUCH closer than I was a year ago.

    I've heard so many great stories on this subreddit from the FBA stuff to the brick and mortar stuff.

    It all motivated me to want to start and do my own thing. Thought I'd share my story.

    I'm pretty caffeinated and tired at the moment, but I really wanted to type this out.

    I still think about the days where I used to work 9-5. I know it works for a lot of people, but it just isn't for me.

    Don't get me wrong some days are bad. But the lows aren't that low.

    And the highs (to me at least) are out of this world.

    I'm so happy I decided to get on this journey.

    I can't wait to see where I am in 5 years, now that I started there's no way I'm stopping.

    I have a dream of starting my own agency one day and I sure as hell am going to try to make it.

    Also, this is just me pouring on the page so watch out for typos! (Yes writers make mistakes.....we're human too you know)

     

    Cheers r/Entrepreneur!

    P.S. I still think UpWork is a bit cancer and I'm trying my best to create other forms of lead gen. I think I might try Google Ads, Facebook Ads and go to networking events around my area.

     

    P.P.S I have no idea how to edit on Reddit.....sorry if this looks bad.

    submitted by /u/sure_why_not_yo
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    Today I made my first sale ever and it feels glorious

    Posted: 22 Nov 2018 07:59 AM PST

    Hi /r/Entrepreneur!

    Before I start and people kill me for spreading information, I'll immediately state I have no courses to sell or email lists to sign up for, and I haven't even started a blog yet. This is just me wanting to share knowledge for free and also record for myself what went well.

    I woke up at 1:30am to my first sale. I have work at 8am tomorrow, but this was way too exciting.

    I'd tried a lot of e-commerce stuff in the past without a systematic approach and basically they didn't work. My new approach that did work didn't come from any online course or marketing guru - just thought it was a logical sequence of outcomes that had to occur sequentially, and it worked well.

    So without further ado, here is my thought process and actionable stuff I did to achieve each step:

    1. Product-market fit is the number one thing you must get. I sold my product through Facebook Marketplace and got free traffic from my local community, to which the response was incredible (9 conversations in 2 days from this free traffic). Upload a nice and proper photo of your product there, then try to sell it there. Facebook targets people well even on that platform, so you'll get a lot of "leads" that prove people want your product.

    2. MVP'd the website. To be honest, I did just use Shopify. Why wouldn't you? They're quick to upload products to, and already have in-built payment capabilities.

    I had a variety of 20 products that I had done product research for (often other competitors allow you to sort by their "Best Selling" products in their Collection pages, if they also use Shopify). Anything with 200+ reviews was enough of a winner in my eyes. In addition, eBay equivalents confirm how many people purchase per hour, so they'll tell you the "hotness" of a product.

    Obviously, clean product images (professional) and good mobile UI seemed to help a lot, in my analysis of my first customer. I used Hotjar to analyse this, which is amazing.

    A SHORT description was enough for each product. One well written paragraph.

    1. A variation on dropshipping. Dropshipping gets a bad rap and is also covered to death elsewhere, but I really just wanted to use it to mitigate business risk. Instead of dropshipping via AliExpress (takes too long), I ordered an equivalent product on eBay (where all your competitors are) and ordered it to myself from somewhere more local. Pro tip: your customers do not care about what your competitors charge when they're on your website. They just want the thing, now. Maybe not the case for every company, but that's certainly what happened to mine.

    2. Once you have product-market fit, just throw whatever traction you can get at the product. You should have already hypothesised it'll convert - now you just need to target the right people. To be perfectly honest, I was stupid and tried four different marketing channels at once and can't attribute the sale to any particular one as a result. Between Google, Facebook, Pinterest - one of them did the trick. Due to some software errors, the sale isn't even on google analytics even though I definitely installed the tracking code for it.

    That's pretty much all I can think of right now. I'm sure there's a lot more to be said, but the emphasis on product market fit isn't just a mantra to be ignored. You have a hypothesis, test it (preferably using free channels), then capitalise on it. It's also just my first sale, so perhaps just luck, but I feel as if this thought process seemed reasonably sound objectively.

    My next steps are to nail down a traction channel and scale from there, as well as to figure out early on how to automate some of the processes with either software or people.

    In terms of stuff I tried but didn't work for prior e-commerce ventures: - Instagram influencers without product market fit. The latter is more important, the first is just a traction channel. Where it did sort of work was Instagram Stories, but not to the point where it was profitable. - Ads. The profit from ads on, say a blog, is abysmal. Not worth it - way higher profit margins with selling product and it's easier. - Not following through. Just a psychological thing here, but I ended up being too meticulous in prior ventures, and always got bored before I made my first product. This store was made in a week, in comparison, with the first Facebook marketplace post taking about 20-30 minutes to do and get extremely uplifting responses.

    In terms of stuff I'm trying (and I'm not affiliated with any of these, I just like them): - Intercom.io or equivalent (Drift, in my case). I want to chat to customers to get even better product market fit. - Hotjar. Allows you to analyse customers' behaviour on your website. Kind of creepy but also extremely useful. I can already see a point of friction is my sizing choices for my particular items. - Customer Reviews. None yet, of course.

    submitted by /u/laiktail
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    Started city in a box business for Cleveland thanks to u/betapunch

    Posted: 22 Nov 2018 06:55 AM PST

    Hey,

    After following u/betapunch for a couple years I decided to start a box business for Cleveland, OH. If you are reading this I really appreciate all the updates and tutorials.

    I recently sold a car dealership that I've owned for 4 years and needed something to do with my time because now I have a lot of it and this seemed like a really fun and cheap project to start. I'm constantly working on different projects, but I was compelled to post about this one here because it was inspired by this sub.

    The website is https://www.clepack.com/

    It's still a work in progress, but I got it close to where I wanted it to be. So far it cost me about $150 to start up. I designed the logo myself, took all of the pictures myself and edited them myself. I didn't hire any help yet, although I will need to hire a coder to help with some functionality and CSS of the site. The entire project took me about 2 weeks to launch with very part-time effort.

    This is my "photo studio" https://imgur.com/a/nQu3xPT. I got the photo tent a few years ago on Amazon for $30 I believe, I do have a DSLR, but I took all of the pictures with my phone which is a Google Pixel 1 and I edited all of the photos in https://pixlr.com/ which is free. So nothing fancy and there is no need to hire a "professional" photographer. There are plenty of product photography and Pixlr tutorials on YouTube if you are a beginner. So far, taking and editing the product photos has been the most time consuming task, but it's all pretty straight forward once you get the hang of it.

    The store runs on the Shopify platform with a few added apps.

    The boxes are sourced from Uline and the stickers for branding are made by a local company that's 2 minutes away from me although in the future I think I'll use https://www.makestickers.com/ because I've had good luck with them in the past and it's the best price/quality combination I've found.

    I've largely been promoting the business through Instagram and have been followed by some notable accounts in the Cleveland area and have been featured by big accounts like the Cuyahoga Valley National Park official Instagram account. I haven't really been promoting the packs, but the city itself which I think helps the exposure in the long run. The Instagram account is https://www.instagram.com/cle_pack/

    I'm an avid photographer around the Cleveland area and have a small following that helped me get a few initial visits to the site when I started mentioning this project to people that follow me on Instagram and whatnot. I don't have any sales yet, but I haven't really been advertising the business for the same reasons u/betapunch was hesitant in the beginning. I'm afraid that if this takes off, especially right before the holidays I won't be able to fulfill orders, so for now I'm just relying on organic visits.

    Not really trying to turn this into a full fledged business to be honest, but Cleveland has been home for majority of my life and I felt like they needed something similar to http://www.baltimoreinabox.com/. We already do have Cleveland in a box, but I wanted to do one of my own more for a learning experience and for the networking part of it than anything else.

    Any feedback is appreciated and I will be happy to answer any questions.

    I'm feeling thankful for Thanksgiving so hopefully this has helped some people. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

    submitted by /u/Igorius
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    Reading through How to Make Friends & Influence People (for the modern age) and SPIN Selling. I have a technical pre-sales job and am keen to read more both for business, and tech... Please give me recommendations!

    Posted: 22 Nov 2018 06:36 AM PST

    Hi everyone, looking for any recommendations for books.

    ​

    I used to read a lot, but fell off the wagon after studying far too much. I'm now in a good job and want to grow faster - what books are generally recommended?

    ​

    I work in technical pre-sales and desire influence, motivation, business, and tech.

    I'm also taking a course in speeding up reading + retention, so this will be a good test case/exercise!

    ​

    Thanks all!

    submitted by /u/obi-hope
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    Average stock options for the 70th employee on a company that just raised a series A

    Posted: 22 Nov 2018 12:51 AM PST

    I'm not sure if this is the right place, but couldn't think on a better subreddit.

    I just got offered a job on a startup that just raised its series A. I want to ask for stock options but don't know what's the average or normal package that someone in my position could get.

    The role is in the strategy/analytics area.

    submitted by /u/jazzieli
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    Full access to a workshop and all the toys that come with, what sort of business opportunities/needs can I fill?

    Posted: 22 Nov 2018 12:56 PM PST

    My friend has a sign shop with the following pieces of equipment:

    • 3 Universal lasers
    • 2 CNC routers
    • 54" printer
    • 60" plotter
    • automated pneumatic channel letter bender
    • 24" Roland flat bed printer
    • paint booth

    Custom sign work is fun, but he's looking for a product he can produce en masse. We've played with the idea of custom cases for PC or Raspberry Pi computers, but we haven't pulled the trigger yet on anything and are open to suggestions. What sort of valuable services or products could we provide?

    submitted by /u/usabilibuddy
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    What is the single biggest challenge you're currently facing when marketing your startup?

    Posted: 22 Nov 2018 05:58 AM PST

    Very interested to see what the /r/Entrepreneur community thinks they need for growing further.

    submitted by /u/BAGINopPC
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    My in-depth guide on how I make over $500 a month thrifting and flipping/reselling quality men's shoes.

    Posted: 22 Nov 2018 08:37 AM PST

    Disclaimer: I have no affiliate links, no plugs, and nothing to sell you. I am working on a freebie in exchange for email sign-ups for my website, but this is down the road when I actually get things off the ground. This is some practice, plus sharing helps the world go round.

    Of all my random endeavors, I'd say my most successful (and enjoyable) has been thrifting and flipping sartorial footwear. It's not the sexiest side-project, and I'm not living on my earnings, but it has done far better than I first expected.

    To simplify it all, I find high-quality men's dress shoes, repair and/or clean them, and sell them.

    I also thrift menswear items and do some resale, however a lot of that is for my own wardrobe. This isn't a massive enterprise, although my last month has been my most profitable to date ($500 in earnings, which is about $400 in profits), and I'm hoping to take things more serious moving forward. Link to stats: https://imgur.com/q8gC2pI - I've actually just passed this and am nearing $700 in earnings.

    I think I've stuck with this more than other endeavors because 1), its almost immediately profitable, and 2), I honestly enjoy it, so it doesn't feel like to huge chore to for look and list items. Having a little extra here and there certainly helps fund other hobbies and interests.

    If you're interested in fashion, want some extra money, or want to seriously fund a project you're working on, you might find thrifting and flipping can do just that.

    ​

    The process

    If you've ever flipped something before, it's pretty much the same idea: find something at a low, discounted price, make any required repairs or fixes, make it look presentable, and sell it at a higher price than you bought it.

    I choose quality shoes because compared to items like t-shirts, coats, oxfords, and pants, they are available at a low price point, hold onto their value better (generally), are pretty durable, clean up well, and just resell better than the rest.

    Here's my general workflow when it comes to buying, fixing up, and selling shoes. The rest of this guide is broken up into these 8 sections.

    1. Hit up a thrift store: thrift stores are your haven. Some days, you might come home with five pairs of fantastic shoes in near-perfect quality. Some days you'll come back with nothing and broken dreams. Others, you'll get annoyed that there's nothing worth buying and you end up buying an overpriced pair of crap boots you know you shouldn't have bought. Regardless, thrift stores are where you'll do most of your hunting due to their lower prices.
    2. Searching for shoes: following a number of criteria, you will search for quality shoes that can be resold, and require minimal work to do so. Shoes of a certain brand, quality, model, condition, colour, leather, etc. will sell better than others. It sounds obvious, I know, but it's important to take this into consideration. Shoes that look 'cool' to you might be worth nearly nothing, while that beat up pair of oxfords might be worth $300 to the right buyer after a good cleanup. I'll give you a number of criteria so you can identify what's worth buying.
    3. Purchasing the shoes: once you've found a pair (or two, or three), now you need to see if the price they're being sold for is worth it. I've never been to a thrift store where I can haggle, so my advice to you is to not bother unless it is stated. eBay is your friend. Download the app and under the additional search criteria, click on 'Sold Items'. This gives you items that fall within your search query that have already sold, so you know what prices buyers might buy for a similar item.
    4. Get them home and do additional research: you'll get better at this with time, so you'll need to do less and less research before/after you buy a pair of shoes. Once you're home, take a look not only at how much the shoe sells for, but what type of leather the shoe is made from, the welt (how the leather part of the shoe is attached to the sole of the shoe), the style of shoe, etc. This isn't just education for your sake; knowing the various properties and * of the shoe will help you describe it better in your selling descriptions on eBay and other sites.
    5. Clean the shoes and apply leather conditioner: I'll provide more in-depth instructions, but you'll take time to use leather cleaner (water works in less severe cases) and leather conditioner, along with a brushing with a good horse hair brush to give the shoe some shine and encourage oils to spread throughout the leather. You may or may not want to polish the shoes with shoe polish, but 95% of the time I don't bother. In certain cases, you may want to apply some shoe stain or polish that matches the colour of the shoe to hide scuff marks.
    6. List items online: there is no end to what site you can list your goods. For the most exposure, I recommend eBay. There are a number of tips to help you determine a final price, and how to optimize your listings and get exposure.
    7. Package and ship them out: I admit I could do better here than I am currently, but I'll share what I currently do to ship out shoes.
    8. Profit!

    Let's begin. Please excuse any mistakes; I'm going to go over this a few times. It's also a bit long, but I haven't added anything that isn't important if you want to take this a little more seriously than others.

    ​

    1. Hitting up a thrift store

    Thrift stores acquire goods through a number of different sources. Some are donated direct to the store, while other times dry cleaners with past-due clothes will donate the clothing. Those charity boxes where you donate clothes (think for cancer, diabetes, etc.) also give these clothes to thrift stores like Value Village (or are actually owned by the company) and they sell it for a profit.

    No matter where these items come from, they'll be available to you at a discounted price. Obviously, used goods will be cheaper than brand-new, and shoes are no exception.

    I live in Canada, so I don't have access to the same number of discount/thrift stores you'll find in the US, however my favourite tends to be Value Village, simply due to the fact that their stores are much larger than other chains, and generally have a well rotated shelf. You can go into a Value Village one day and the next they'll have a few new items to check out.

    Some tips for thrifting:

    1. Go during your work lunch, on your way from work, or early on weekends. Don't bother going at the same time everyone else does, which is sometime after work in the evenings, or later in the day on weekends.
    2. Have an understanding of stocking size. Shelves at thrift stores are generally a set size. This means if a shelf can hold a maximum of 20 items, it will only every house 20 items. If a store has a small shelf dedicated to men's shoes and they don't sell many of them or cycle through them, you won't find new items. Check locations with larger shelves/more stock more often and make the most of your time.
    3. See how often new items come out, and when. Thrift stores don't usually work like clock work, however there are vague schedules when new items come onto the floor, or when items are rotated in and out. If you're aware that someone stocks new items sometime in the morning before noon, for example, try timing your visits to take advantage of these facts.
    4. Go out at least 3 times a week, and not to the same location. Make this a habit. Go when you can, even if it is on a weekend, but use the previous rules to thrifting to make the most out of your time.
    5. Don't be discouraged. You will find nothing some times. You will also come back with more than you can managed. Understand that it is all luck, with a little strategy. If you remember this, that there are ups and downs (just like life), you'll do fine.
    6. Try to hit up areas with an older, more wealthy population. Thrift stores ship out stock between locations to ensure they have relatively full shelves. However, much of what is donated in an area is kept there to be sold. That means if you go to a thrift store where the populace is older (is more willing to own older or higher-quality goods to some degree) and wealthier (has disposable income and may rotate through old goods quickly), you might have more luck. Areas with a high student population are often picked clean, although sartorial goods aren't always picked through.
    7. Give yourself time. Give yourself at least twenty minutes if there is a sizable shelf for shoes. I like to give myself half an hour at a thrift store to check out everything, but if you're just selling shoes, twenty minutes is enough.

    If you take just one thing away from this sections, it is time. Hit up stores regularly, and don't rush yourself.

    ​

    2. Searching for shoes

    Please refer to section 4's 'Beginner Shoe Brand List'. Use that list as a guide to find shoes. Use that same section's 'Signs of Quality' list to understand what some of the hallmarks are of a good shoe. Please, take a look at these shoe brands, take a look at the hallmarks of what makes a quality shoe, and use this information to inform your purchasing habits.

    1. Discard your perspective that thrift store goods are filthy and disgusting. Sure, goods like clothing don't smell great (luckily shoes often don't smell), but it doesn't mean they're unwashable/untreatable. You'll never find the good stuff if you let a few off-smells scare you.
    2. Look at the men's shoes section, but don't ignore the woman's shoes as well. I don't mean look at all the woman's shoes (unless you want to get into woman's shoes, which is certainly a profitable niche), but look out for mislabeled shoes and boots that could be male. Shoes without heels, are generally larger, and have less feminine features could possible me male shoes, so keep your eye out.
    3. Check out the showcase/high-end sections. You can find some good items in these areas, but be careful. They sections are notorious for counterfeit items, but only for the designer/popular brands. When dealing with dress shoes, this isn't as much of an issue, but if you see a pair of Gucci loafers, take into consideration that you might be looking at a fake. Also, although an item might be genuine, it might be priced too high for the risk to be worth it.
    4. Dirty or scuffed shoes aren't write-offs. A little dirt might be masking a wonderful pair of shoes underneath. What looks dirty and dull can, more often than not, be restored with a little water, leather cleaner, leather conditioner, or polish. With time, you'll be able to spot what can be fixed, cleaned and restored, and what isn't worth your time. For example, shoes and boots made of chromexcel or 'pull-up' leather can look nearly brand-new after some leather conditioner/oil, and a good brushing. What looks horrible on the shelve will always look better once you've done the bare minimum restoration work.
    5. But don't just pickup a pair to take home without checking for less than apparent issues. Check the entire shoe for damage that might discourage buyers.
      1. Look at the underside of the shoe; the sole. Is there a visible welt (a line of thread around the perimeter of the shoe)? How worn is it? Is it almost gone, reduced to mere dots of thread? Are the soles showing heavy cracking or damage? Do you see any cork on the bottom of the shoe? Any holes? Are any layers of the sole separating or breaking apart?
      2. Look to the sides of the shoes, then the top. Are there any cuts or cracks in the leather (cuts and cracks are different than creases, as this has compromised the leather and cannot be fixed in the vast majority of cases)? Any heavy discolouration that seems to be deeper than surface level? Any heavy scuffing that cuts deeper into the leather? Any marker or paint stains? Have any seams (especially on the back of the shoe) begun to come loose? Did the previous owner step on the back lip of the shoe?
      3. Look on the inside of the shoe. Does the inside shoe heavy discolouration (from sweat, pressure, general age, etc.)? Are there any large tears? Anything that looks really off? Is any leather peeling away along any seems?
    6. Use your senses when trying to determine if a shoe is worth buying. Many of your purchase decisions will be made by identifying a shoe's brand name and model, but there are times where it's more difficult than that to determine more about the shoe. You'll need to get a feeling of the overall quality, and various unique features of the shoe to tell you more about it. Touch the shoe's leather, see if the inside is lined or unlined, if it has a quality welt...all of these indicators might tell you if your shoe might sell well online by a buyer who knows what they're looking for. Just because its not on eBay, or hasn't sold on eBay, doesn't mean it won't sell.

    ​

    3. Purchasing shoes

    Honestly, there isn't much to say here. If it's an independent thrift store that allows haggling, feel free to do so. I've dealt with consignment shops that are open to budging a bit, but that's about it.

    My rule of thumb when buying shoes to resale is to sell the shoe for at least x3 it's original cost. If a shoe costs $20, I should feel confident that I can sell it for at least $60. The pricing on shoes seems to be very haphazard, even at chains, and these companies often price well known designer brands highly, but lesser known ones they have no idea.

    ​

    4. Take them home and do additional research

    Before I get deep into this section, I'd like you to think about how often you see these brands.

    Aldo, GEOX, Ecco, H&M, Dockers, Old Navy, American Eagle, Steve Madden, Call it Spring, Zara, Rockport, George.

    These brands are what I generally refer to as 'fast fashion' brands (GEOX and Ecco aren't per se, but you'll find your fair share of their plasticky, misshapen shoes donated, anyways). They really won't make you money unless they're in perfect condition (ideally with price stickers still intact) or are a limited run, disproportionately popular model, part of a collab, or are made in countries associated with higher-quality menswear (Italy, Bulgaria, Spain, Portugal, etc.)

    My advice: don't buy them.

    Okay, fine. So what should you buy?

    Let's start with the importance of brands in evaluating worthwhile footwear. Brands are important when dealing with men's shoes for a number of reasons.

    • Story: All brands have a history; a story. Some are quite interesting; others...not so much. Some companies will buy the rights to old, historic brands, just so they can say they have over 100 years of heritage (you wouldn't believe how rampant this is in the watch world). Think Viberg, Rancourt, Allen Edmonds, etc.
    • Clout: Especially relevant to designer items, you're paying more for the prestige behind the name. This doesn't always (or often) mean an item is of higher quality. Think Gucci, Prada, etc.
    • Quality: Some brands are known for better quality goods. Quality is subjective, of course, but there are a few markers to watch out for. You can generally expect a shoe from Allen Edmonds (at least their vintage shoes till now) to be of excellent quality compared to what the average consumer wears. Think Vass, Edward Green, etc.
    • Materials: Some materials are simply more expensive to source, purchase, and to work with.
    • Production Location: Brands produce their shoes in various countries. Some are known to only create goods in countries associated with ethical treatment, which increases cost.
    • Production Methods: Some brands make their shoes fully, or partially, by hand (also called 'benchmade'. This increases cost and generally means you're looking at a quality piece of footwear.

    When a retailer sells you a shoe, the price is based on a combination of these factors. It's just like with purses, clothing...you name it, these factors dictate price and worth to consumers.

    When you're buying a designer brand of nearly anything, you're usually paying a premium for the story behind the brand and for the clout associated with it.

    If you see the brands below in good quality (not deep gashes, cuts, heavy discoloration, heavy sole damage, etc.) :

    ​

    A Beginners Shoe Brand List

    • Red Wings
    • Wolverine
    • Johnston & Murphy: If they are vintage are are in good condition, or have a goodyear welt, buy them.
    • Allen Edmonds
    • Cole Haan: This one's tricky. If they're not made in India and don't have a rubber sole, they're likely a good purchase.
    • Florsheim: Also difficult. If not made in India, consider them.
    • Salvatore Ferragamo
    • Hugo Boss: Hit or miss. Some mainline series aren't fantastic, but a few show high-quality construction.
    • Alden
    • Carmina
    • Loake
    • Meermin
    • Herring
    • Beckett Simonon
    • Charles Tyrwhitt
    • Dack's: Generally a good buy if the style isn't too dated.
    • Grenson
    • Frye
    • Common Projects
    • Bally
    • Crockett & Jones
    • Trickers
    • John Varvatos: Made in the US or Italy are of higher quality.
    • Aquatalia: Hit or miss, as their shoes quality can be all-over the place.
    • Chippewa
    • Grant Stone
    • Church's
    • Tod's
    • Rancourt
    • Alfred Sargent
    • Oak Street Bootmaker
    • R.M. Williams
    • Vass
    • Viberg

    For the most part, I have excluded items that even if you see, you should consider that they might be replicas. Brands like Gucci and Prada are notorious for this.

    As great as brands are, there will be some that don't come up very often. Sure, an eBay search can help, but will be times when you stumble upon something incredible, but didn't take the time to look into it. That's why being able to recognize the markers of a quality shoe is so important. When you're searching along a rack quickly to make the most of your time, too many times I find myself searching for a brand. Sure, well known brands make money. But every so often, you find something new that scores you BIG.

    Consistency, I honestly believe, is the most important factor when hunting for shoes. Sure, a pair of Gucci loafers might sell because of the brand name, but you'll make more money by selling shoes that are well-made and resonate well with the sartorial crowd. The people who buy these shoes aren't often considered with brand name, particularly; they're not hypebeasts.

    Those one-off mega-finds don't come around too often, so always be on the lookout for quality footwear. You won't regret it.

    Below are some marks of quality that you should look for. Some of these will jump off the shelf at you, saving you time at the thrift store.

    Signs of Quality:

    • Stitching: Goodyear welts, blake welts, hand stitching, etc. These welt are sometimes simulated, but are marks of better quality. The soles and the leather upper are stitched together (in different ways depending on the stitch) but the main thing is that they are NOT cemented, or simply glued together. Shoes that are 'cemented' together generally do not last long and are a pain to repair when the upper separates from the sole.
    • Actual, non-corrected leather: Corrected leather often looks and feels plasticky, and has been sanded down to remove any signs of discolouration, poor hides, etc. Hell, even before we talk about corrected leather, you should ensure you're dealing with leather at all (check for 'genuine leather' and stay away from 'made-made upper'), as some simulated leathers can be convincing on first glance. It will take time to understand what corrected-grain leather looks like, but take a look at nearly any typical shoe from ALDO, and you'll have your answer.
    • Clean, even stitching: Sure, mistake happen, but high-quality shoes have very clean stitching that should be the same on both shoes.
    • Layered leather soles: It can be hard to tell if there is simply a wood veneer on the sides of a shoe's soles, however they try to replicate a stacked leather sole, which is multiple layers of leather that are cut and polished. If your shoe actually has these, it's another element that bumps up the cost of the shoe. Shoes that only have rubber soles are very likely of a lower quality.
    • Chromexcel, pull-up, and more durable leathers: Bad for the planet due to the toxic materials used to dye the leather, they offer outstanding durability and develop a great patina with time. It can be hard to tell if a leather is chromexcel or pull-up, but generally they are thicker, have well-faded scrapes or scratches, and sometimes exhibit a lightening of the leather if you press upward on the underside of the leather (why it's called pull-up).
    • Rounded toes vs square/box toes: For the most part, square toed shoes aren't often made by quality manufacturers. I'm not saying they aren't, but many sartorial shoe makers with history or prestige don't make them. 99% of the time, if a shoe has a box/square toe, it isn't worth looking at. Shoes with round toes (and that includes the 'pointy' toes) are a safer bet.
    • Handwritten sizing/details: This might seem a little random, but older shoes, or shoes made by hand, often have the sizing and additional details (like model number) written in some permanent ink by hand. Not all shoes of quality have handwritten details, but those that do are generally benchmade and worth a closer look.
    • Made in a country where production is more expensive: Think Canada, the US, UK, Italy, Bulgaria, Peru, Australia, and, in general, Europe. India, Malaysia, China (with a few exceptions), Sri Lanka, and other countries offer cheap labour and lower quality control. Be aware that countries like Italy still make great shoes, but there are large-scale factories that take advantage of that old-world assumption that Italian goods are high-quality.

    ​

    5. Clean the shoes and add leather conditioner

    Now for the moment of truth: cleaning the shoes and making them look like a million bucks. Here are my tips for cleaning regular leather (and not suede, which is that fuzzy, nappy leather that isn't smooth and shiny).

    1. Brush your shoe well with a horse hair or soft plastic brush. Brushing the shoe, from top to bottom, will remove any dust and large particles, and also result in a less dirty cleaning cloth. Remove the laces and pull the tongue out so it can be brushed and cleaned as well.
    2. Lightly dampen and wring a cleaning cloth (preferably cotton) and clean the shoe with circular strokes. Leather doesn't love water, so it's best to use a little while you clean your choose and not to soak them. DO NOT use soap. Leather cleaners can be effective, although try to stick with brands like Saphir, who have a good name with a good reputation, as to not damage your shoes. Cleaning in circular strokes does the trick well, especially when spot cleaning. Use an old soft-bristle toothbrush with a little water to clean where the sole of the shoe meets the upper (the leather body of the shoe).
    3. If a shoe is especially dirty, let it dry after a few go-overs. Don't over wet the shoe, as you might end up staining the leather and causing water damage. If there is a significant amount of dirt on the shoe, or if the shoe has excessive polish or stain, resort to a leather cleaner. Most leather cleaners help dissolve dyes and other compounds on the surface of a shoe, and usually don't strip shoe stains much.
    4. After the shoe looks pretty clean, let it dry for a few minutes, give it a brush, and apply your leather conditioner. Again, giving the shoes a few minutes to dry is a good idea. Brush the shoes to remain any additional dust or debris that might come from your cloth. Next, get a fine terrycloth (or a cotton cloth this is very fine, or even some woman's stocking or hose) and add a tiny bit of leather conditioner to a section of the shoe. Only apply leather conditioner to non-suede or nubuck leather (again, none of that fuzzy leather, else it will most certainly ruin the texture and colour). My all-time favourite is Saphir Renovateur, which goes for a pretty penny compared to some Amazon brands, but it works wonders. Rub it on in a circular motion until absorbed, and do so until you covered the leather upper of the shoe.
    5. Brush, brush, brush. Brushing shoes seems a little odd, but the process helps redistribute the oils naturally present in the shoe, as well as the conditioner we just applied. Under certain conditions (like with Saphir Renovateur, it also adds an excellent shine that makes the shoe pop Brush the shoe until you're uncomfortable, then brush a few moments longer. Brush the technique below:
      1. Brush horizontally on a piece of leather, side to side.
      2. Then on the same section, turn the brush 90 degrees, brushing up and down.
      3. If you brush with this technique, you are brushing the surface of the shoe evenly.

    If you follow these instructions, you're probably going to end up with a pair of shoes that look quite a bit better than they did initially, especially if they picked up some dust and grime on the shelf at the thrift store.

    ​

    6. List the items online

    If you only ever listed shoes on eBay, you'd do rather well. However, some shoes, especially if you don't stick strictly to dress/sartorial shoes, will sell better on other platforms. Grailed is a fantastic website for more 'hype' brands and leather sneakers. Some of my favourite or commonly well-loved options include:

    • The Real Real: More luxury brands, plus they take a more significant cut
    • Poshmark: Generally anything, especially mass-market designer items
    • Depop: Quirky items
    • Etsy: Vintage items

    I don't do much listing of items locally, as I've found I get minimal hits/traffic compared to eBay or Grailed. However, don't discount:

    • Kijiji
    • Facebook Marketplace
    • Letgo
    • Craigslist
    • Other local marketplaces

    A lot goes into properly listing an item online. There's tons of room for optimization, which I'll be delving into when I work on my first ebook, course, or whatever I end up doing. But I'll give you a few tips below.

    • The more photos, the better. A newer phone camera will do just fine, but high-quality shots help sell items. Try to have a neutral backdrop. Take photos of the top, the sole, and all sides of your shoes. Make sure at least one photo includes the brand logo. Ensure you have a photo of the shoe's sizing, which can be found on the tongue or the inside near the heel. Make sure you take photos in a bright area (natural like is often preferred). Finally, take photos of any damage that might catch someone's attention, like cracks, cuts, or deep craps or nicks. You will need to make note of these.
    • Ensure the title includes the shoe's brand, series/line, colour, size (US and EU, preferably), width (C, D, EE, etc.), and anything else of note are included in your listing. Giving browsers key information immediately will work in your favour.
    • Ensure all fields are filled out (that are applicable) to the best of your ability. eBay has tons of fields, especially for shoes, but be sure to fill out the sizing, material, brand, colour, and description/condition fields. The latter is especially important, as seasoned users will look to you to provide details on the condition of yours shoes, such as damage or wear. Be clear. You do not want to deal with returns, so don't give the customer a reason to prompt one.
    • Start buy using historic 'Sold' prices on eBay to determine listing prices, and start off with 'Buy Now' listings. Do your due diligence and see how much the same brand of shoe has sold for in the past, and try to take an average of those. You can push your listing price to the high end, but you will likely see fewer inquiries. Because auctions with reserve prices (basically your item MUST sell for more than the reserve price, which means you won't accidentally sell an item for $10) cost money to list, I stayed away from them at the beginning and just listed 'Buy Now' listings. I added a minimum offer value, so I automatically refuse offers under a certain value, so low-ballers don't waste my time.
    • Do your research on how to set up shipping, especially to an international audience. I'm still struggling with this myself, but I'd save a good amount of time figuring it out in advance. Nearly all the questions I get ask how much shipping to a certain location will cost, so I encourage you to get ahead of the game and set up a shipping table with eBay. Most of the time you can guesstimate the general weight of the package by weighing the shoes in advance.

    7. Package the shoes and ship them out

    Wohoo! You sold your first pair of shoes. If you didn't change your default eBay settings, you have about 2 days to ship out your item. You can change this setting to give yourself more time to prepare.

    Here are a few tips to ensure your shipping goes off without a hitch:

    • Before you buy any boxes, save and use the boxes from your past delivers from Amazon, etc. These boxes are perfectly fine for your shoes, as long as they fit. If you live in a condo or apartment building and have shared recycling, go and grab a few clean boxes and use those. Don't be ashamed; you're saving yourself from paying $2-5 for a damn piece of cardboard. If you need to buy a box, look at which post offices/providers have the cheapest boxes.
    • Invest in a roll of packing foam (by-the-roll variety) or packing paper. I often get enough packaging and wrapping goods from my Amazon orders, but investing in packing material isn't a bad idea. It not only protects the shoes in transit, it also looks more professional. You can order some from a few shipping/logistic companies, and you can even try your luck at a Home Dept or similar store.
    • Use eBay's Shippo to easily print labels. Shippo is eBay's built-in label creating platform that integrates with nearly every courier and delivery service. Go to your sold items section and click on 'Print Label' in the dropdown beside the item. It will take you to Shippo, where you can create an account, attach a payment method and create a label immediately. It will import nearly everything about your listing. The only thing you need to insert is the size and weight of the package, and fill out any customs info. Select the company you would like to use (it will show you the cheapest ones first, but try to use what you advertised in your listing). Pay for the label, print it, and tape the correct section of the label onto your package. Done.

    At this point, you can drop your package off at the applicable postal office or box. At this point, hold onto the tracking info if you have any, and send it to the buyer. This not only creates trust with the buyer, but you would appreciate it in their position. Just for some piece of mind.

    ​

    8. Profit!

    If you use eBay, you will most likely have your funds held until the buyer receives their item. Don't despair! You'll get your money soon.

    As you can also see, I haven't calculated my actual profits or anything. I could, but I just haven't yet. But just like anything with entrepreneurship, you just need to do it. I have excuses, but I'm trying to work past those. I would encourage you to keep records and see how much you spend on buying goods, and your margins after selling.

    ​

    And that's about it! Feel free to ask any questions you have, about thrifting, reselling, and menswear in general. It all comes naturally for me at the moment and I'm sure I've missed a fair bit (although I am saving some of the sauce for my website content in the future).

    ​

    submitted by /u/Enfade
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    How can I advertise my skills as a consultant if they are too broad? Is it a good idea to not be so specialized as a consultant?

    Posted: 22 Nov 2018 06:58 AM PST

    To give you some context, I have experience in business planning, business strategy, corporate governance, compliance and marketing. I'm also a life coach and had significant experience helping others resolve personal issues related to their career aspirations, relationships, family issues etc... I would like to be an independent consultant, but my issue is that I cannot find a way to specialize. I am equally good and passionate about all the things I listed above, so there is no preference of one over the other. So I guess my question is, is it unreasonable to say that I want to be a consultant on all these areas? And how can I advertise myself? Am I a general consultant, a problem solver, a fixer? Your feedback would be much appreciated!!

    submitted by /u/AdvancedJudge
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    Started a moissanite (diamond alternative) ring business. Here's how I found my niche and how I got started!

    Posted: 22 Nov 2018 02:12 PM PST

    I made a new account to post this for privacy reasons.

    Backstory:

    I found a great niche when I stopped looking. Here's how I found my niche and how I started my business.

    I had been focussing really hard on finding a business idea that I was thought worth my time. I was really beating myself up over not being able to find a business idea/ not being able to just pick something and go with it. After some advice I read online, which was echoed by some mentors of mine, I decided to stop focussing so hard on finding a business idea.

    It was a few months later that I was looking at engagement rings with my girlfriend. We were getting really discouraged and uncomfortable about what we were reading about the ethical, environmental, and social issues associated with diamond mining and the diamond trade. We also read how diamonds aren't that rare and that the price has been artificially inflated. To make matters worse the price tag on the ring she wanted was almost $20,000… not an amount we were comfortable spending.

    We started researching and stumbled upon moissanite. I had never heard of it before and after asking around, neither had any of my friends. As we read more about moissanite the more we liked it. Moissanite is a lab-made gem so it is an ethical, socially responsible, and environmentally conscious alternative to a diamond. It is almost as hard as a diamond so it is suitable for wearing daily, just like a diamond. It also happens to cost about 90% of what a diamond equivalent would cost.

    After going to see some moissanite rings in person at a local jeweller I knew we had stumbled on something special. You can have it look just like a diamond (there have been specials on NBC and ABC where they survey people and no one can tell the difference between a moissanite stone and a diamond). You can also have it cut in a certain way that reflects more rainbow colours in certain lighting.

    It was at this point that I looked into the option of starting a business around moissanite.

    Building the business:

    I turned to Alibaba to look for suppliers of moissanite. The communication barrier, time change, as well as a number of other issues made Alibaba a less than ideal solution for me. However, it did show me that the margins on moissanite were adequate to allow me to sell moissanite with e-commerce as the medium.

    I started building my website on Shopify on a 14-day free trial. (Tip: if you ask them, they will extend this 14-day free trial to another 14 days). My website is still a work in progress. I have room for improvement on my conversion rates so I know I need to change something. Any tips would be greatly appreciated… I don't claim to be an expert here.

    I made a real break when I found a great jewellery supplier by chance. Unlike, Alibaba/alixpress this supplier required you to have a tax number, and to fill out an application. This made me feel like they were more legit. I sent an application and spoke with them on the phone about my business idea and my background (previous entrepreneurial experience and a technical background). They signed me up! They're super easy to deal with and I have margins that are in line with industry averages.

    I have been experimenting with google ads, facebook ads, and Pinterest promoted pins. My ad budget is small (about $10CAD a day). I am also in talks with a couple of marketers who are potentially looking at a Pay Per Sale model with me.

    I'm really excited about this industry as I think a lot of couples are looking for a more ethical alternative to diamonds, and are also not willing to pay for an inflated diamond.

    Please feel free to ask me any questions and offer any feedback on my website, or anything else. Thanks for reading :)

    Website: lunagems.ca

    ​

    submitted by /u/LunaGems
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    Facebook Ads?

    Posted: 22 Nov 2018 02:08 PM PST

    Quick question, hoping for some inspiration.

    ​

    I'm wanting to promote my new website through Facebook ads in my local area. I've set all of that up but I need help with what tags to use for the ad. It can include; Demographic, Interests or behaviours.

    ​

    My business is web design/digital solutions.

    ​

    How would i break down my target audience, being business owners, from entering the info above?

    ​

    Edit* To clarify, so far i've added the interests of "Business owner", "Small business" and the location of where i'm based and working from.

    submitted by /u/King_Tommm
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    Recommendation for renting space to run SAT summer boot camp

    Posted: 22 Nov 2018 01:54 PM PST

    My wife is a high school math teacher and is thinking about starting a small side hustle in form of a SAT summer bootcamp.

    In terms of space we're thinking she'd just need a small conference room (that could comfortably fit ~7 people) each day for about 3 hrs a day, mon-fri for 2 weeks. Hours would ideally be 9am to 12pm but are somewhat flexible.

    We're thinking maybe some small or seasonal business that has a conference room might be amenable to renting the space, but aren't sure.

    Ideas?

    submitted by /u/FairPerspective
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    Manufacturing sourcing tips/advice: "French Press" like product

    Posted: 22 Nov 2018 09:18 AM PST

    Hi Reddit Community -

    I'm looking to manufacture something similar to a french press (with high quality glass, stainless steel lid & filter, rubber). My approach is to contact suppliers currently making french presses via Alibaba & Google searches. However, I am considering using a broker/agent to help find the best factory. I'm also expecting to get my product inspected before it's shipped (whether through the broker/agent or another 3rd party).

    ​

    Questions:

    -Feedback on my approach? Are there better alternatives?

    -Any suggestions on where to manufacture (obvious one is China)?

    -Any recommendations on solid relationships based broker/agents in the french press (or similar) space?

    -What's the average cut for a broker/agent?

    -What resources do you suggest to learn about the materials and degree of quality? I want to learn as much as possible to better understand what I'm buying and ensure optimal quality.

    -What is the determining factor to source certain materials myself from other factory's (e.g. super fine filters)? If this is done, do I need to find another 3rd party to do the final assembly or does it depend on the type of factory?

    -And finally, any other tips/suggestions/advice are GREATLY appreciated :)

    ​

    Thank you!!

    submitted by /u/rudder1234
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    As an entrepreneur, do you have to be an expert in your product.

    Posted: 22 Nov 2018 12:39 PM PST

    For example, if I wanted to create my own perfume, would I have to know the chemistry behind it in order to create the actual perfume and then actually synthesize it? If you have a product idea, how do you actually make it physical? Do you get in contact with a custom manufacturer? I know this is probably a stupid question.

    submitted by /u/TruePhilosophe
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    Whats wrong with Wix for ecommerce?

    Posted: 22 Nov 2018 12:34 PM PST

    I have seen a lot of people saying to avoid Wix when selling products online. I don't really understand why? People have mentioned issues with scaling up etc but Wix is far more user friendly when it comes to designing the actual site compared to Shopify. I have tried to use Shopify in the past but it seems so restricted in how you can design your site unless you have experience coding.

    So, is Wix really that bad? If so, why?

    Is there an easier way to get more freedom designing websites using Shopify I am not aware of?

    submitted by /u/distinctspy
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    YouTube Channel regarding start up journey

    Posted: 22 Nov 2018 07:54 AM PST

    We, that is two of my co-founders and I, are soon going to launch our prototype, which we'll pivot to potential business partners and investors. The business is in the B2B logistics sector.

    An idea we had, both to sort of promote our business as well as for nostalgic reasons, is to launch a YouTube channel documenting this very same journey. It'd be in a Vlog format with relatively frequent (1-2x a week) updates.

    Is this something the community here would be interested in following? Could it have any negative effects on our business (granted we are not discussing specific financials or any investor names involved until made public)?

    Would love to hear your opinion guys..

    submitted by /u/OverFlow10
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    What are some great tools to improve retail store profitability?

    Posted: 22 Nov 2018 11:28 AM PST

    I'm in grocery retail business (brick and mortar) for good few years, measuring all the usual KPIs and continuously working on improving the service, range and margins, but looking for some new, great tools or technology solution that can help me optimise the operation and fine tune what I do. Thanks!

    submitted by /u/tsuzmir
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    How to create a landing page for mobile app?

    Posted: 22 Nov 2018 11:02 AM PST

    I don't know what services or what techniques I should be using, so any and all advice is welcome. Thank you

    submitted by /u/mewuzhere
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    Back again, critique my (hopefully less) shitty landing page!

    Posted: 22 Nov 2018 10:53 AM PST

    www.comfortcrate.co.uk

    Firstly, a massive thank you to everyone that commented on the previous thread, I'm definitely much happier with how it looks now, and I've gotten over 40 emails over the past day and a half, obviously a tiny amount in the grand scheme of things, but I'm just happy it's getting anywhere.

    My next steps are going to be:

    • Add maybe another small CTA above the fold, maybe just directing them to the signup form at the bottom
    • Adding my social media profiles
    • Replacing the stock image of the energise section with one I take myself, and taking a replacement photo of the books as the dark background looks out of place
    • Once my stamp arrives, include a section describing exactly what is going to be in the first month's box with an accompanying picture of the branded box

    That's what I'll be working on right now, but as I'm still a newbie, do you guys have any recommendations for me?

    I really do appreciate all the support!

    Previous thread

    submitted by /u/OnceAToaster
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    Question about contracts

    Posted: 22 Nov 2018 10:40 AM PST

    I have been looking to start pitching my advertising skills to local businesses, but I have a few questions that I feel I need to know the answers to to continue

    1.) What makes a contract legally binding? Can I just make a contract that is as simple as I work for you and you pay me X amount a month?

    2.) Do I even need a contract for this? Can they just agree to pay me an amount per month for my work? Can they just simply have some form of writing where they agreed to this and it be legally binding?

    submitted by /u/galixifyy
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    Raising Money - Valuation Question

    Posted: 22 Nov 2018 09:34 AM PST

    Hi all,

    I've read a lot about raising money and the proper valuation of a company but I have a few questions.

    To give a bit of background. My company is a software development company that started by doing custom development work, moved to a one-time software licensing model and in 2018 moved to a SaaS model with lower pricing to try to build our customers up to a higher revenue point.

    In 2017, we had ~$540,000 USD in gross revenue with $350,000 coming from one-time sales, $200,000 coming from service/custom developments and $90,000 coming from recurring monthly payments (this $90,000 came from 2 customers, neither of which are still paying us).

    So far in 2018 with our new sales model, we have ~$470,000 YTD. With $150,000 coming from one-time sales, $200,000 from service/custom dev and $120,000 from recurring monthly payments (this $120,000 came from ~15 customers with around 12 of them still paying).

    My question is about valuation and investor pitching. What's a formula for figuring out our valuation? Do I go into detail about 2017 and previous years? Or should I strictly focus on the new 2018 sales model? Is it fine to give a customer lifetime value based on 1 year of data? What should I say about revenue per customer (there's a vast difference from 2018 and previous years)?

    Thanks in advance.

    submitted by /u/TimelyDig
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    What are some Cyber monday/Black Friday deals out there that would be helpful for entrepreneurs

    Posted: 22 Nov 2018 09:17 AM PST

    Searching for a quality App Developer

    Posted: 22 Nov 2018 09:02 AM PST

    Hello

    I'm searching for a quality App Developer who specializes in making games. Where do I find someone fit for my project?

    submitted by /u/businessmatt
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